Oblivion
by TW-addict
Summary: Mackenzie 'Kez' Winchester wasn't particularly thrilled with rejoining the 'family business'. She liked flying solo, kicking ass her own way, especially after falling out with her older brother. But she soon gets dragged back in, traveling with her brothers and taking out whatever sons of bitches dare to cross them. Except her eight month sebatical soon comes back to haunt her...
1. Chapter 1 - Unexpected run in

**A/N) Welcome :) I decided I need a little breather from my teen wolf stories so am adding another show to my writing to hopefully fuel me/give me inspiration (write both at the same time, just at a slightly slower pace) so this is a winchester sisfic, starting in season 1 episode 11 – scarecrow, I sure hope y'all enjoy.**

She had completely cut herself off from her family – well, if you could even call them that half the time. Eight months with zero contact- nada, zip, zilch. Not even with Sammy. Call it selfish, make it out to be harsh, but sometimes you just had to do what was best for yourself at times and staying with Dean and dad wasn't doing her any good. She reached her breaking point, especially after that blow out fight with Dean. She loved her family, she did, but right now she hated them. She knew if she stayed, if she 'sucked it up' then she would end up loathing them and she didn't want that. Ever.

So she up and left. She said some rather questionable choice words to her dad, screamed at Dean to 'leave her the hell alone' and that 'she wasn't five anymore, he had no right to control her life the way he saw fit' in which he replied 'well stop acting like it' and it just sorta escalated until she was grabbing her backpack, swinging it over her shoulder and warning them not to look for her because they wouldn't find her – _ever_.

Dean had looked panicked at that, his stubbornness dropping as he told her to 'calm the hell down' and to 'stay and work this out like adults' but Mackenzie didn't listen. She flipped him off, screaming that she hated him and had left and not looked back. Not once.

Yeah, she was definitely a bitch but it _was_ her middle name. Okay not really, it was 'Mary' but still, you got the picture right?

And that was how she made her own way in this mega fucked up world. Not going to college like Sammy, or following dad's orders like Dean, but by being a loner, never stopping in one place for too long just like their dad had taught them. She didn't want to be found, not yet. Dean's words still stung, and their father? Ha – forget it. He was the master at belittling people, as if she wanted to go back to him with her tail between her legs. No way in hell was _that_ happening – like _ever_.

So she did what she did best. She was independent and care-free, enjoying going where she wanted, doing what she liked without her dad and Dean chastising her like a child, she even got to hook up with whoever took her interest without worrying what Dean would say or even do – he was annoyingly overprotective like that. So yeah, it was bliss, but lonely too. She missed them when she remembered when things were good. Fighting with Dean over gummy bears and taking turns hiding the TV remote. But since Sammy had left, those moments were few and far between.

Hey, what could she say, life sucked. _Especially_ for a Winchester.

She drove her stolen Ford Mustang towards Burkitsville, Indiana, having caught wind of a possible case. Couples going missing without trace, all at similar times of the year. Yeah, definitely something fishy here. She was a little late to the party though – maybe some other hunters had picked this case up, hell maybe it was all done and dusted, but better safe than sorry. Plus she needed something to kill, she was wound all tight and antsy, the foot that was inching down on the accelerator beginning to bounce up and down.

Hunting wouldn't have been her number one career choice but it gave her a thrill. She liked living life on the edge, and there was nothing more exhilarating than putting yourself in life or death situations. And yes, she was well aware how crazy that sounded but hunting was like a drug – addictive. The more you did it, the more immune you became to the dangers, the more thrills you needed to get that same egotistic hit. Hunting was her drug and one day it would most likely kill her. It was kind of alarming how much that _didn't_ faze her.

She cruised along soundly, bobbing her head to some cheesy 80's hits that blasted out the old radio as she came to the cute little poster-picture town. Pretty much _every_ town looked alright _at first_ , until she came face to face with a demon, a werewolf, a vampire, a horde of ghosts and then Mackenzie figured suburban towns just weren't for her. Like, at all. _Nooooo_ thank you. Even just the thought made her shiver.

She parked her car (well, her _stolen_ car) in front of a gas station, grabbing her bag that looked like a cute little pouched sack but had more than enough weapons to hopefully kick some ass in case of any surprises and stretched rather overdramatically, shaking out her cramped up legs and cracking her back and neck, rolling up her black denim jacket sleeves, wiping away the crumbs from her cheeseburger off her black v-neck tee and scuffed her biker boots along the sidewalk as she strolled around the run down station, passing a few overly-friendly people with their wide smiles and chipper voices that just made Mackenzie want to smack them in the nose. What the hell were they so happy about? And was just about to walk further into town when she heard an annoyed deep yell and immediately thought the worst – some drama-filled shit was going down, maybe if she was lucky she could exert some of her inner frustrations on whatever was happening and threw herself around the corner, skidding to a stop in shock as she saw the familiar black chevy impala parked neatly at the gas station, her own blue Ford Mustang having rolled and crashed into the back of Dean's baby.

Dammit, if that car was here then so was…

Yup. He was. She saw him standing there, arms thrown in the air in frustration, an annoyed look crossing his face as he ranted and raved to Sam next to him, bow legs racing over to inspect the damage – damage that was definitely minimal because the car couldn't have been going rolling more than, what? 2, 3 miles per hours? She doubted it would cause even a scratch but Dean was, well, _Dean_. What else could she say?

"Who the hell left their car to crash into my baby, huh? So help me god I will kick your ass-"

She rolled her eyes, scoffing under her breath as she folded her arms as she chanted to herself to remain calm but a fiery ball of anger erupted in her stomach – she didn't want to see Dean, not yet, let alone have him steal her case. This was her hunt, she needed to do this, not stand aside so Dean could get all the credit.

Both Dean and Sam had their backs to her, not even realising she was standing less than twenty feet behind them until she let out an angry growl, stomping her foot angrily off the tarmac.

"No, no, no and did I mention _no?_ Pack your shit up and go, _I_ was here first"

Sam and Dean both whipped around at her voice, shock twisting their features as they spotted her.

"Kenzie-"

"Nu uh" she wagged her finger at them, "do you know how much peace I've had since going solo? Because let me tell you something, it will _not_ be broken because you two asshats decide to take a case in some crappy, suburban, apple-pie town. I'm on it and I can handle it, and I certainly don't need you two holding me back. So go"

"What the _hell_ Mackenzie?" uh oh, Dean was mad, he always said her full name when he was pissed, "eight frigging months of _nothing_ , not knowing if you were dead in a ditch somewhere, and after all this time _you_ chew _us_ out? Have you lost your frigging mind?" he shouted, stomping forward as he glowered at her, "no voicemails, no texts, not even a frigging message in Morse code, the least you could've done is let me know you were still breathing"

She cocked a brow, unamused with his rant as she held out her arm, wrist facing upwards, "check my pulse and see for yourself"

"Drop the snark" he snapped, not even letting Sam into this rather one sided conversation, "you don't leave family behind, never mind without some form of contact, I thought I taught you that?"

"Don't try and guilt trip me"

"I damn well will" he nodded heatedly, "you could've been _dead_ for all I knew, do you know how terrifying that is?" and yup, he was definitely going all out with the guilt tripping, "you're my little sister, I'm supposed to _protect_ you-"

"And that is exactly why I left" she interrupted loudly, "I'm twenty-two years old and my big brother is still playing god with my life. You and dad both" she added a little more softly, not failing to notice her brother's flashes of hurt at the mention of their dad, not really understanding why but she carried on, pretending she didn't notice it, "it's pathetic. And after that fight…" she scoffed under her breath, "you expected me to stay after that?"

Dean frowned as Sam noted both their expressions change, a curious expression twisting his features as he nudged Dean beside him.

"Fight? What fight? You never mentioned this"

Dean shot his brother an angry look, "what difference does it make. Little miss selfish was the one that took off"

"You're _controlling"_ she screeched, slamming her open palms off her thighs, "you broke Aaron's nose!"

"He was _on top of you"_

"We were having _sex"_ she screeched, "consensual sex meaning I _let_ him on top of me you _asshole"_

"Wait-wait…" Sam stepped between them before things could get violent, "who's Aaron?"

"No-one"

"A guy twice her age" Dean glowered at the reminder of the blowout fight they had, the nail in the coffin so to speak, "he was _twice_ your age Mackenzie and you expected me _not_ to do anything?"

"I expected you to act like a grown up" she snapped, "apologise for barging in, excuse yourself and realise I'm an adult and I'll have sex with whoever I damn well please and _not_ beat the guy within an inch of his life. It was frigging _humiliating_ "

"Yeah, well-" he scoffed, giving her a dirty look, "-better humiliated than knocked up"

"You're a prick"

"Love you too, sis"

"Guys, stop" Sam shook his head, cutting off Dean's sarcastic remark and looking at the two in disappointment, "eight months and this is how you two choose to reunite? Kez-" Sam was using her shortened-shortened nickname, at least _he_ wasn't pissed, "-you should've called. We were both worried, and Dean…" he sighed, like he knew his words wouldn't hit home, "she's right. She's an adult, as long as she's safe then she can sleep with who she wants – you know, like  you do"

"That's different" Dean defended and Mackenzie growled under her breath, ready to start throwing punches at her brother.

"No it's really not" Sam stated, "I'm sure kez is smart enough to use condoms, you gave her _that_ talk, remember?"

"Don't remind me" Dean mumbled uncomfortably, "worst moment of my life"

" _Okay_ , thank you" she cut them off sarcastically, "not that I don't _love_ talking about my sex life with my brothers, which – by the way – has gotten _a lot_ more exciting since I ditched your asses-" okay, sue her, she wanted to piss Dean off, idiot deserved it, "-we're kind of off topic here. You two can leave now, I've got it handled here"

Dean crossed his arms stubbornly, "no"

"No? No?" she challenged, "what do you mean _no?"_

"I mean no" he glowered, "either work with us or _you_ go"

Sam could sense the tension between the two of them and wished they would drop their anger because this was the first time he saw his sister in over a year, hadn't heard from her in eight months, was it so bad he wanted to give her a hug?

He turned to her, pouting a little and channelling his softer eyes, giving her a small genuine smile, "come on Kez, we were always a great team. You don't have to do everything alone, you know"

She narrowed her eyes, well aware he was using his puppy dog eyes super power, "I work better alone"

"And you expect us to believe you've been hunting this past eight months by yourself? All alone? Solo?" Dean scoffed, "ha – yeah right"

"99% of the time, yes" she snapped, "and you know what? I'm still alive and kicking so shut it"

"You shut it"

"So mature Dean"

"You started it"

"Guys" Sam cut them off in exasperation, "both of you shut it so I can give my sister a hug"

Dean just screwed his face up and waved him off as Mackenzie sighed but soon melted into Sam's hug, only now realising how much she missed her brothers, "okay sasquatch, no icky moments now" she warned playfully, pulling back and flashing Sam a half smile, "I missed you" she leaned in a little closer whispering, "definitely more than I missed Dean"

"Hey" Dean shouted, pointing a finger at her, "zip it hoe"

"Screw you dick"

"Guys, please" Sam let out a small laugh, "stop trying to rip each other's heads off. Dean, you were the one not two days ago phoning up all the hospitals in Ohio – _again_ – because they found a Jane Doe worrying it was Kez. Well… she's here, at least show you're pleased to see your sister"

He grunted but peaked up, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets, "of course I'm glad she's alive, doesn't mean I can't still be pissed"

"You be pissed? _Please_ – if anyone should be pissed it's me dumbass"

"Oh look, here she goes again like a damn broken record-"

"I'll give you broken you little-" Sam caught her around the waist before she could storm up to Dean and deck him in the nose.

"Kez, stop it" Sam warned, "Dean, go get some pie or something" he advised, nodding to the gas station, "and don't come out till you calm down"

"Yes mom" he said sulkily, throwing Mackenzie another dirty look before storming off, driving his impala forward and away from her stolen car, parking it on the other side of the parking lot so it was safe, checking extensively for scratches before stalking into the gas station and leaving her stewing in her own bitter filled rage, her eyes narrowing.

"You cool?" Sam asked hesitantly, watching her fury carefully like a kettle about to overboil.

"You kidding?" she adjusted her black denim jacket, flashing Sam a playful smirk, "I'm always cool"

He chuckled, reaching forward to ruffle her loose hair but he soon got serious, casting a suspicious glance between her and the beat down station Dean was currently residing in, "What did you and Dean really fall out over?" he asked quietly, "because reactions like that don't come from him walking in on you having sex"

"Correction – he _stormed_ in because he heard us through the motel wall" Sam screwed his face up as if to say T.M.I but she just shook her head, "and uh… nothing"

He quirked a brow, "you expect me to believe that?"

"No, not smart Sammy" she winked, "but it's uh… it's complicated. And what the hell you doing back in the game? You gave this life up for a reason"

He winced, a sad expression twisting his features, "something else that's complicated" and she frowned, "it all started because dad's gone missing"

Her eyes widened a little in shock, "dad? Missing? I doubt that" her and her dad had always had a strained relationship but it was still a little unnerving to hear that "he's probably just A.W.O.L"

"Not this time" Sam sighed, "Let me catch you up"

 **A/N) An opening chapter just to test the waters so to speak haha – if you enjoyed, let me know and thank you so much for reading and giving this story a chance, love you all :)**

 **Face claim - Alexandra Daddario :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Scarecrow

**Disclaimer: supernatural is not mine - ARE YALL READY FOR THE PEOPER UPDATING IF THIS STORY cos I am haha thanks for all the reviews and support, so glad I had time to flesh this story out in my head before continuing so hope y'all enjoy X**

"Oh Sammy I… I am so sorry" Mackenzie murmured quietly, reaching out for her brother's hand, "if I'd have known I would've contacted you… I know how much Jess meant to you"

"Thanks Kez" he bowed his head in sadness, "and now dad thinks he's closing in on the demon and Dean thinks we should just follow his orders and work this case like good little soldiers"

Of course he did, that was Dean all over – daddy's little soldier through and through.

"What do you want?" she asked, cocking a brow, "what's your gut telling you?"

"To go to California" he replied, "to hunt this bastard down and get some revenge"

"Then go" she said simply, "don't blindly follow orders because of Dean's guilt tripping and maybe after I finish this case because, let's face it, I was here first, I'll join you. This demon ruined all our lives Sammy… it deserves some Winchester ass kicking"

"Dean will hate me for going…"

"He'll get over it" she shrugged, "and honestly? It's time he realises we're not five anymore"

"Why don't you come with me?" he wondered, "we always made a good team"

"I gotta work this case" she explained, "for the past eight months that's all I've done solo and I'm pretty good at it. I enjoy it, and if I left and another couple were taken, I'd regret it. But go" she encouraged, "go if you need to"

He smiled in relief, "it's so good to see you again Kez"

"Right back at you" she lightly punched his arm playfully before digging the car keys from her pocket, swinging them around her finger before handing them to him, "take my car… well, stolen car" she corrected, "and don't come back till you find what you're looking for, deal?"

He quirked a brow but took the keys, "are you going to work with Dean on this one?"

"Hell no" she scoffed, "he'll just get in my way. He can do his thing and I'll do mine"

"Kez… he missed you, y'know?" he whispered, "any spare time he had he was phoning hospitals, morgues, trying to track you down. Even called me your name a few times when I went to change the music, or woke up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about you. He thought you could be dead… we both did"

"That was never my intention" she whispered, frowning sadly, "I just needed to get away from them"

"And I understand that" he murmured sympathetically, "trust me, I get it but… but just try, please?"

"Don't do the puppy dog eyes" she whined as he chuckled at her, his large doe eyes burrowing straight through her, "and I'm not promising anything but I might try – _maybe_. That's all you're going to get"

"Better than nothing" he bent down, pulling her into a brief hug, "thanks for the car Kez"

"My pleasure – don't get yourself killed, alright?"

"I'll try not to" he smiled, swinging his backpack into the back seat and sliding into the driver's seat, "see you soon Kez"

"Bye Sammy" she smiled, feeling an ache in her chest as she watched him pull away, giving him a brief wave – for the past eight months it had gotten easier to distract herself from missing her family by her recklessness and ability to compartmentalise, continuing to remain bitter and angry about her upbringing, her dad's strict and demoralising rules, her brother's annoying habit of trying to keep her safe while still being rather controlling, how she felt caged most of the time hence why she broke free and did things her own way. It worked better – well… _most_ of the time.

"Where the hell is Sam?" Dean's gruff voice made her jump as she swivelled around to see him emerge from the diner, his brows furrowed into annoyance.

"California" she shrugged as his eyes went bug-eyed, "well, technically on his way there"

"You better be kidding me" he fumed, storming over to her, "dad told us not to go and two minutes with you and he's already disobeying orders"

She scoffed under her breath, throwing Dean an annoyed look, "two minutes with me and he's doing what he wants to do, you mean. He's not a robot, he doesn't have to follow any of dad's stupid orders if he doesn't want to"

Dean pointed a finger in her face, his expression twisted into a furious scowl, "don't speak about dad like that, you have _no_ right. Where were you these past six months Sam needed you? exactly – running. He needed his twin sister but you couldn't even be bothered to answer the damn phone because you were being selfish and irresponsible and now you're encouraging Sam to do the same thing"

"And that's something I'm going to have to live with" she raised her voice, determined to put her point across, "but Sam is free to do what he wants and he wants to help kill this sick son of a bitch, the thing that killed his girlfriend – you know, the one you couldn't even be bothered to meet?" she threw back in his face, "for years you weren't apart of his life because dad told you to, so don't speak to me about not being there for Sam and making me feel bad, when you couldn't grow a pair and rebuild your relationship with your brother until you needed something from him"

Dean was still fuming, his cheeks flushing a light pink as he clenched his fists, his anger unravelling hard and fast, "you should've just stayed away"

"As soon as this case is over, you'll get your wish" she snapped back, "I'll be far, far away from you and your obnoxious controlling ways – for good" she turned on her heel, storming away, "don't get in my way"

"Don't get in mine" he shouted back but she just flipped him off and ignored whatever insults he shouted after her, turning the corner and being forced to retreat to the local library to try and brainstorm what the hell could possibly be killing couples in such a ritualistic way.

To Mackenzie, it seemed to be some kind of sacrificial ritual – like in return for two lives, whoever was offering up these couples got something in return, she just didn't know what.

So she started surfing the net, browsing through articles of the area and found that this cute little apple pie town was the only town for miles and miles that was flourishing when everything around them was dying and withering away, the crops not paying the bills and many businesses losing profit.

That was strange… very strange, and she definitely smelt something fishy.

"God" she mumbled, logging off the computer and grabbing her backpack, swinging it onto her shoulder, "I _hate_ small towns"

It was getting dark now, not long until sundown and because she gave Sammy her car she managed to quietly steal one from the local compound lot and drove around with her EMF, just to see if it would pick up any signals and luckily – or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it – her EMF reader started bleeping like crazy when she reached the orchid and parked the car on the opposite side of the road, hiding it in amongst the overgrowth.

She knew it was probably stupid and reckless to just go in and explore without knowing what she was dealing with or any back up but that was her all over – she enjoyed the thrill too much, the adventure and tinge of fear pumping through her veins. She liked playing with death too much but made sure she had a knife sheathed and gun loaded as she made her way into the orchid, squinting through the darkness.

She probably should've taken a flashlight but that was too much like highlighting her whereabouts to whatever nasty was creeping about here so opted for slinking around in the shadows in the pitch dark, listening hard for any movements.

Seconds went by, then minutes, and she was sure she had been walking around for a good hour and still found nada. Zilch. Jack all. Wow, what an utter _waste_ of time.

"Yeah, _great_ job Mackenzie" she murmured sarcastically to herself, "kudos, really" suppressing an annoyed eye roll as she let out a huff, " _well done"_

She scuffed the dirt below with the heel of her boot, leaning back against one of the trees. She was annoyed and desperate to find something, to solve this case as petty proof to Dean she wasn't a child, that she could figure shit out and handle things and she most certainly didn't need him, but she was losing and losing fast.

She could just imagine his smug face if he ganked this thing first and she hated how much that _irked_ at her.

No, no she _needed_ to find something, she needed to keep working and figure this shit out. She had to otherwise these last eight months were all for nothing.

Just as she steeled herself to keep looking she heard a shrieking scream and immediately stiffened, her wide eyes scanning the bleak endless expanse in front of her.

"I _knew_ I was onto something" she muttered triumphantly before darting forward, following the screams of terror and dodging roots and stones on the ground as she ran straight ahead, pulling the knife free but the shrieks soon died down and she fumbled about blindly, keeping her eyes peeled for anyone.

"Dammit" she cursed, turning around and walking backwards, casting her gaze from side to side but soon her back crashed into the trunk of a tree and she let out a loud "oomph", almost falling to her knees but managed to stabilise herself, "Jesus Christ, stupid tr-oh"

What she _thought_ was a tree was in fact a scarecrow. A very big, very threatening, very _alive_ scarecrow. One that looked like it wanted very much to rip her apart into tiny little bite size pieces.

"A fucking scarecrow? Okay, _that_ I didn't expect" she cut herself off as she ducked, avoiding it's arm that shot out to try and knock her over, jumping back up and sending a drop kick straight into its chest but it was more solid than she realised and she fell back with a harsh landing, her back cracking as she did so.

"Ow, son of a mother fricking bit-"

It's hand wrapped around her neck, hauling her back up and slamming her into a tree, the knife getting knocked from her grasp as she clawed at its grip, trying to loosen the hold but the thing was relentless and she couldn't even let out a noise as some sort of call for help, her eyes nearly rolling back into her head but the loud crack of a gun shot made the thing stumble backwards away from her and she fell to the ground in a heap of tired limbs, grabbing at her throat.

"Get the _hell_ away from my sister you _fugly son of a bitch!"_

"Dean?" She coughed just as he continued shooting, pumping the scarecrow full of bullets but it appeared not to work because the thing didn't go down, instead it let out a loud, inhumane growl and grabbed her foot, beginning to drag her away.

Dean, in a frenzy, cocked the gun again but it was empty and with a furious snarl started forward but Mackenzie was embarrassed enough that her annoying older brother had to save her ass in the first place, she couldn't let it happen again, so with a determined grunt used her free foot to dig into the ground to push herself up, leaping onto the scarecrows' shoulders and tightened her legs around its neck to gain leverage so when she arched backwards, she took the scarecrow with her and flipped it over, knocking it off balance.

Her knife was lost and she didn't have time to grab her gun which probably would be no use but settled for a good old fashioned kick to the head, dazing it momentarily as she grabbed a fallen branch and careened it downwards with as much force as she could muster straight into its stomach and into the ground below, pinning him to the spot.

"Kez, let's go" Dean's tone was urgent as he grabbed her arm, " _now_ "

"No" she was stubborn and adamant, "we have to _finish_ this-"

But the scarecrow broke the branch in half, immediately pulling itself to its feet and Dean just let out an annoyed huff, being nothing short of gentle as he pushed her towards the exit, " **now** Mackenzie and don't make me ask you twice"

" _Don't make me ask you twice"_ she mimicked childishly, rolling her eyes, "don't _dad_ me Dean you-"

The scarecrow roared, extending its arms out towards both of them but Dean wrapped his hand around her wrist tighter than before and made her run, yanking her out of the orchid and onto the main road.

"Get _off_ me" she snapped, yanking her hand free, "idiot. _Now_ look what you've done"

"If you mean saving your ass, then yeah, I just did that" he shot back, "what the hell were you even doing out there?"

"You did not just save my ass you egotistic _moron_ " she shot back, "and the same as you, hunting down that thing"

"Well that was incredibly stupid" he chewed her out, "you went in there with no backup, no viable weapons and almost got strangled to death, if dad knew-"

"Well dad is never going to know because I am never speaking to that selfish bastard ever again" she ranted, "and soon as this case is done, I'm out of your hair too I can guarantee that"

"Uh..." It was only then she noticed a couple standing huddled against Dean's car, arms wrapped around each other, "can we um... Get the hell out of here please?"

Dean was still annoyed, his jaw clenched but he softened his look a little, nodding at the couple, "of course, let me jumpstart your car and we'll get you on your way. Mackenzie, get in the car"

"No chance" she scoffed, folding her arms stubbornly, "I'll go my own way, thanks"

"It wasn't up for debate" he snapped, "so get in the damn car"

"Make me" she challenged, tilting her chin up defiantly but Dean just narrowed his eyes at her, stepping forward and slinging her over his shoulder and that she didn't expect, punching his back.

"You _idiot_ , what the _hell_ are you doing? Let me down this _instance_ Dean Winchester or so help me _god_ -"

Technically, he did let her down, just not where she was wanting, throwing her not so gracefully into the backseat and slamming the door behind him, locking it so she couldn't get out.

"What the hell is this? Let me out now"

"Pipe down" he rapped his knuckles on the window, "and keep it zipped"

"If you don't let me out right now I will break the Windows, you hear me?"

"You wouldn't dare" he pointed an angry finger at her, "'cause then you're getting an ass kicking little sis. So sit back and shut up"

She huffed, throwing him a dirty look as she folded her arms across her chest, her fists clenched as he shot her a smug look and started to fix the couples car, wishing them well and promising them he would follow them until they reached the towns border just to ensure their safety before dropping back into the drivers seat, shooting her an undistinguishable look in the rear view mirror.

"I always knew you were reckless but that was down right stupid"

She scoffed and turned her glare out the window, trying her best to ignore him as he started the engine, beginning to drive behind the couple.

"You could've been killed you know?" He continued, like he was trying to get a response from her, "if I wasn't there-"

"If you weren't there, it would've made things easier" she snapped, "this is your problem Dean, you're too smothering. Too controlling. I _hate_ it" she exclaimed, "these past eight months have been a dream"

He flinched, shooting her a hurt look, "you could've been dead for all I knew"

"And I'm sorry about that. I am" she said coolly, "but between you and dad, I was losing my damn mind. So yeah, I ran. I ran away, but I finally got to be me. I enjoyed hunting on my own. I loved using my own initiative and taking responsibility for my own actions and I can't wait to get back to it. So you do you and I'll do me, okay?"

"No, not okay" he slammed on the brakes just as he reached the town border, swivelling around in his seat to face her, "you are my little sister and I'm supposed to _protect_ you, regardless if you want me to or not"

"You're not listening Dean" she muttered in aggravation, "I don't _want_ to be around you. Not anymore"

His green eyes swelled with hurt before forcing a steely look across his face, "you can't still be mad about that thing with that guy, can you? Get over it Mackenzie"

"It's not just that and you _know_ that" she hissed, "you betrayed me with what you did and I can't forgive you for that. Especially because you knew how badly I didn't want dad to know but you _still_ told him"

He clenched his jaw, his eyes cooling down as he sighed heavily, "... I said I was sorry" he eventually said, "now can we please move past it?"

"No" she said simply, leaning back in her seat, "now take me back to my car or I'll walk"

He rolled his eyes, "stubborn idiot"

"Asshole" she sneered.

"Whatever Mackenzie" he rolled his eyes, "but at least get in the front. I don't want you stabbing me from behind"

She shot him a glare but climbed over the seats, throwing herself against the door and not bothering with her seatbelt, turning her gaze out the window as he did a sharp u-turn and drove back the way he had come.

The silence was stifling, the tension thick but she tried her best to ignore it, to focus on the fact she would soon be by herself for hopefully the next eight months and more, but Dean slowed down a little, obviously wanting to drag this little car ride out as long as he could.

"Why don't you come back to the motel?" He suggested in a, surprisingly, soft voice, "and let me check you out. Your neck is already bruising"

Now she wasn't arguing with Dean, she did feel the painful burn around the column of her throat and although it was tempting to get Dean to patch her up, she had to stick to her guns.

"I'm good" she told him, "it barely even hurts"

"You're such a bad liar Kenzie"

"Shut up" she grumbled, "insufferable ass"

"Cranky bitch"

She rolled her eyes but smirked a little, missing this back and forth teasing but knew she was still too mad and bitter to move past what he did.

"Please Kez?" He asked, "I'll even let you raid the mini fridge?"

"Tempting, but I'm still going to have to stick with no"

He sighed loudly, "c'mon, what do I have to do to make it up to you?"

She glanced over at him, furrowing her brows, "let me go" she said simply, "stop dictating my life and leave me alone. Let me live my life the way _I_ want and maybe then, when we stop this thing and I leave town alone, we might be on good terms"

His eyes saddened, "you can't go off by yourself again"

"I can and I am" she said, "it's what I want Dean"

"Well _screw_ what you want" he exclaimed, "this family deserves more than you just walking away. Family stick together and look out for each other-"

He was interrupted by her phone shrilly ringing which gave him a a few seconds to cool down as she fished her phone from her pocket, flipping it open to see Chris' name flashing up at her.

"Chris?" Dean questioned, "why is pastor Jim's son calling _you_?"

"None of your business" she turned the phone away from his prying eyes, "and keep your nose out of my conversation okay?" Before answering it and greeting him.

"Hey Chris, sorry this isn't that great of a time-"

"Actually, it is" he cut her off gleefully, "guess who just took out a nest of vampires all by himself?"

She smirked, "judging by your smug ass tone I'm gonna have to say you"

"Damn right" she knew he nodded even though she couldn't see him, "so how about a little celebration? My bed has been really cold lately without you in it"

She smiled a little, leaning back a little further from Dean as he sent her a suspicious look, not being subtle as he tried to listen in.

"Unfortunately, no can do. I'm in the middle of a killer scarecrow case over in Maryland - and yeah, you just heard that right, a frigging scarecrow. Maybe another time though?"

"For sure" he grinned, "and I've never heard of a scarecrow coming to life before. Sounds interesting"

"It's certainly that" she smiled but soon sent Dean a glare as he scooted closer to her, "oh my god Dean, _seriously_? Ever heard of a little privacy?"

"Dean?" Chris sounded shocked but soon brightened up, " _hey Deano"_ he called loudly through the phone so Dean could hear, " _long time no see, how's it going?"_

"Not too bad buddy" Dean shot her a triumphant look as she screwed her face up in annoyance, "what's up?"

" _Not much"_ their raised voices were getting on Mackenzies nerves as she held the phone away from her, rolling her eyes, " _just took out a nest of vamps"_

"Nice one, hate those bloodsuckers"

" _You working the scarecrow case too?"_

"Yup" Dean flashed her a grin, "our little Kenzie needs a bit of assistance"

"Screw you" she exclaimed, "I most certainly _don't_ need your help asshat, and wow, look at that, service is shit, gotta go Chris, speak later" and shut the phone before Chris and Dean could get anymore friendlier, knowing for sure if Dean actually knew the truth about them - that when they were lonely or bored they would hook up - then he certainly wouldn't be Chris' BFF for much longer, he was annoyingly protective like that.

"Was nice to hear from him" Dean added, "I didn't know you kept in contact"

"We've worked a few cases together" - 'and fucked many times' she added in her head, "helped each other out" - 'helped each other _get off_ ', "is that okay?" She added sarcastically.

"Sure, glad to know someone has been keeping an eye on you. Pissed he didn't tell me though"

"I told him not to" she sighed, "wait.. The car is back there" she swivelled her head around, "Dean, you totally just drove past my drop off point"

"Shame, guess you just have to come to the motel then"

She narrowed her eyes, "I hate you, you know that right?"

"Love you too, little sis, love you too"

 **A/N) so I published the first chapter a few months back just to get the idea out of my head and now I've had time to flesh the story out a little so MORE UPDATES YASSS ahaha I sure hope you all enjoyed and please please let me know what you thought, it would really mean the world, especially as this is a new story and new territory lol Kenzie and deans relationship is complicated ha, and oooooh wonder what he did ha, see you all soon :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Resentment

**Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me in any way shape or form – thanks so much for all your support and review and follows and favourites, Mackenzies journey is something im so excited for and have so many ideas, so tune in, buckle up and enjoy the ride, hope you like**

Dean headed straight back to the motel, running a couple of red lights – probably because he was scared she would jump head first out the car if he slowed to anything under fifty (which was stupid, if she _really_ wanted to get out she could, a couple of scrapes from hitting the tarmac wouldn't deter her) but she stayed seated, propping her feet on the dashboard like she always used to do which earned her a dirty look from her brother but she just smirked, deliberately twisting the soles of her biker boots so they squeaked.

"I swear to _god_ if you mark my baby-"

She rolled her eyes, "chill out Dean"

"Get your feet off my dash!"

"You kidnapped me, I'll put my feet on your dash if I want to"

He sent her an indignant look, "I didn't _kidnap you_ little miss drama queen"

"You kidnapped me" she reiterated, "so my feet are staying put"

"How many times do I have to tell you-"

"-'my car, my rules'" she drawled out in a deep voice before Dean could get the words out, "yeah yeah, you've told me enough times"

"Well you clearly never listened"

" _Clearly_ " she stated blandly, "but then again, when did I ever when it came to you?"

He screwed his face up but soon got that mischievous look in his eyes as he slammed on the brakes for a brief second so her upper body jolted forward, her knees hitting her forehead which made him laugh.

"Asshole" she muttered under her breath, sending him a glare before she reached for the cassette player but he batted her hand away, pointing a sharp finger at her.

"The feet on my dash I can forgive – _just_ , but messing with my tunes? No way in hell"

"You know I don't like Bob Seger"

"Don't insult the legend"

"Just let me-" she reached for the player again but he bashed his knuckles against hers and her hand went numb for a moment.

"Okay ow" she said in irritation, "Oh my _god_ , you're just as annoying as always"

"I'm your big brother, you're supposed to find me annoying"

She rolled her eyes yet again, their bickering getting no where but luckily or unlucky, she wasn't sure which one she had decided on yet, Dean pulled up at the beat down motel a couple of minutes later but maybe this was her Winchester stubborn streak or just her petty side coming out but she crossed her arms across her chest and didn't move when Dean got out of the car, causing him to bend down and peer through the window, pointing at her and then the motel impatiently.

She pretended not to see him, glancing down at her fingernails and he sighed heavily, stalking around to the passenger side and wrenched the door open, staring down at her unamused.

"Mackenzie, get out of the car"

"You're the one that wanted me in the damn thing, so I think I'll stay" she said smartly, snark oozing from her tone as she sent him a sarcastic smile, "I wonder if this seat still reclines"

He watched her in annoyance as she made the back of the seat recline horizontally, making a show of making herself comfortable.

"Ah yes, perfect" she smirked, "close the door please"

"You're intolerable Mackenzie, you know that?"

She smiled widely, holding a hand to her chest in exaggerated surprise, "why thank you, what a kind compliment"

He rolled his eyes, one hand resting on the open door, the other placed on his hip, "I did not help raise someone that talks back to me so much so get out of the car"

"You're giving me mixed signals Dean, what is it to be? Get _in_ the car, now get _out_ of the car, make your mind up"

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "okay I get it, you're acting out because you're still mad at me, that's great, really, doesn't take an Einstein to figure that one out but if you don't get your ass out of this car and get into that motel room, I'll drag you out myself"

"Tough love card, nice one" she whistled mockingly, "and you're my brother, not my dad, so stop acting like it" and with that she pushed herself up and brushed past him, knocking his shoulder as she did so and made her way to the entrance but Dean called out to her.

"The room is that way" pointing in the other direction as he slammed the car door shut.

"I'll get my own, thanks" she snarked, not even pausing to turn to look at him but she heard Dean exhale loudly, knowing he had his work cut out for him as he rushed to catch up with her, stepping in front of her.

"No way, you're staying where I can keep an eye on you. I know you Kenzie, you like to do runners"

"Low blow" she exclaimed, knowing he wasn't just hinting at her sneaking out bathroom windows but escaping away from the family for months on end "and I was fifteen for the love of god"

"The first-time dad actually let you have a room by yourself and you snuck out to party and drink with the local fraternity"

"Well, there ain't a frat party here" she shrugged, making a show of looking around, "so not only did you kidnap me, but now you want to take away my privacy too"

"I never kidnapped yo-" Dean cut himself off, taking a deep breath to calm himself down because he knew his sister was just trying to wind him up, get under his skin, especially if her shit eating grin was anything to go by, fishing the key from his pocket and shoving in into her hand, "-just get in the room"

"Whatever" she rolled her eyes, moving past him and twirling the key around her finger as she located room seventeen, shoving the key in and turning it so the door swung open and eyed up the one bed, quirking a brow at Dean over her shoulder.

"You're taking the sofa"

"Yeah yeah" he shut the door, "princess"

"And I don't have any stuff – because you so rudely ignored me and drove straight past my car-"

"Your _stolen_ car, you mean"

"- _point is-"_ she directed her annoyed glare to him, "all my shit is back there. Spare clothes, deodorant, toothpas-oomph" she cut herself off as she scrambled to grab a duffle Dean threw to her, hitting her in the chest, "what the hell is this?"

"Your shit" he repeated with a smug grin, "I kept a bag of your stuff in the trunk in case I ran into you again, everything you need is in there"

She cocked a brow in surprise, for the first time unsure of a witty or sassy comeback, totally thrown – she was prepared to start an argument with Dean over this, now, well… she had nothing to fight over.

"How…"

"Thoughtful?" he supplied for her cockily, grinning widely.

"Presumptuous" she corrected with a cool look but accepted the duffle, "I get first shower"

"No escaping through the window now Mackenzie"

"We'll see" was all she said before locking herself in and immediately running the water, letting it heat up as she stripped off her clothes, dumping them in a messy pile in the corner and glanced at herself in the mirror, wincing a little as she saw the bandages pressed into the side of her stomach starting to turn red – the fight with the scarecrow (god, what a weird sentence) probably aggravating the healing wound.

And yes, she just admitted to getting hurt. It was rare, but it did happen. This particular incident just a couple of weeks back.

She needed fresh bandages so raked through the duffle but all she had left in her emergency kit was a few bandaids, some heavy-duty aspirin and half a bottle of vodka and she wasn't about to go back crawling to Dean for his supplies because one, he would mama-bear her, insisting he look at the wound and clean it up, two, make a smartass comment about how this is what happens when she leaves the safety net of family for some selfish, thoughtless trip by herself and three, he would probably, eventually, laugh too - mocking her because she wasn't unbreakable or unbeatable like she claimed. God he was such an ass. So she just peeled off the bandages, disposing on them in the trash and took a few mouthfuls of the vodka, whether to dim the flare up of pain from the injury or her brother she wasn't sure – probably both, let's be real. Her brother could be _unbearable_ at times.

Once the steam had filled up the bathroom she stepped into the shower, letting the hot water rush over her body and wash away all the blood and grime, watching it disappear down the drain but her peace was disrupted by a sharp knock at the door and she clenched her jaw, holding back her annoyance.

"Still there Kenzie? 'Cause if you don't answer, I'll just come in"

She rolled her eyes despite him not seeing her, "fuck off Dean"

"Good, still there, that's all I wanted to know"

She didn't bother answering, staying in the shower for as long as she had the patience to, trying to use up all the hot water so when Dean had a shower it would be stone cold – yeah, she was being petty, who cares, - before stepping out and drying herself off but her wound clearly didn't like the hot water she forced on herself because fresh blood started to escape the sloppily done stitches (she performed surgery on herself, it wasn't exactly going to be a work or art was it?) and she cursed quietly, dabbing the wound dry.

Nope, she wasn't going to ask Dean, no way, she would rather bleed to death.

Extreme, but true… maybe.

So she just placed a few of the small bandaids across the wound, knowing it would do absolutely no good, especially because they were pink flowery ones she bought as a joke to patch Dean up with a couple years back but it was better than nothing and dressed herself in her striped bed shorts and an oversized baggy jumper, throwing all her shit back in the duffle and emerged from the bathroom.

Dean had a relieved look for a second, glad she didn't do another runner but coughed to change his expressions, sending her a warning look from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, flicking through dad's journal.

"You better not have used all the hot water"

"Tough luck if I did, now get off my bed"

He rolled his eyes but moved, grabbing his duffel and heading to the bathroom, "take a look through dad's journal, see if you can find anything about ritual sacrifice"

"Yes sir" she said with so much attitude that Dean stopped over the threshold of the bathroom, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"Kenzie please" he murmured, "let's solve this case together okay?"

"Okay, okay sheesh-" she blew out a long breath, sitting cross legged on the bed as she started flicking through the journal, "-calm your tits"

He smirked, closing the bathroom door and just a few seconds later she heard a small yell and smiled, "dammit Mackenzie, this water is freezing"

"Better be quick then" she laughed, ignoring his annoyed, muffled protests as she flipped the pages, scanning her dad's messy scrawl but nothing jumped out at her about sacrifices, in fact she was rather disinterested until she came across a small excerpt with her name and frowned, reading it over.

' _Mackenzie is a handful. Never listens. Never does as she's told. She's reckless and ill-tempered and a total liability. She has it in her to be a good hunter, but she doesn't follow the rules. Mackenzie should have left instead of Sam. At least Sam has potential.'_

Wow… _harsh_.

God, at times she totally hated that man and now was one of those times.

She didn't have potential? _She_ didn't? he was speaking out of his ass – she survived eight months by herself, doing case after case without so much as a break, honing her abilities without his and Dean's annoying input. What he called recklessness, she called intuition and confidence that she could get the job done.

Urgh, that _man_.

The bathroom door opened and she slammed the journal shut, an irritated look decorating her face as she shoved that thing away from her, cocking a brow at Dean, "can't find anything"

"You barely looked" he muttered, annoyed, but fished the journal up as he plonked himself on the sofa opposite her, dressed in nothing but his boxer shorts and a grey tee, his usual attire to sleep in, and flicked his gaze up to meet hers, "be mad at dad all you want, but we have to solve this case Kez, don't let your stubbornness cloud that alright?"

Her dad, unlike Sam and Dean, never shortened her name. Never gave her a nickname. To him, she had always been and always will be just Mackenzie. Her dad wasn't exactly one for affection.

"You're only here because dad sent you" she scoffed, "daddy's little soldier"

Anger flared up in his green eyes, his jaw clenching, "I'm saving lives"

"Yeah" she agreed, "on dad's orders. If he phoned right now and said 'Dean, stop working this case, meet me blah blah blah' you would"

"No, I wouldn't" he stated in a hard tone, "do you really think that little of me that I would put people's lives in danger"

No. She knew her brother was an ass, but he was all about saving people no matter what.

She sighed, rubbing at her eyes, "whatever, it's late and I haven't slept since I ganked that ghost over in Michigan so-" she started shuffling backwards on the bed but winced as she strained her torso the wrong way and pulled at her stitches, pain flashing across her expression for a split second before she could control it.

"What was that?" Dean asked suspiciously, giving her a thorough once over.

"What was what?" she bit out, annoyed at his overly eager senses when it came to family.

"You winced"

"I never winced"

"You winced" he reiterated, dropping the journal to one side as he stood up, "why did you wince?"

"Think you need your hearing checked old man, I'm fine" she grabbed the covers, trying to pull them up over her body as she sat against the headboard but Dean grabbed them before she could, quirking a brow at her.

"Mackenzie-"

"Don't you _'Mackenzie'_ me Dean Winchester" she exclaimed in aggravation, trying to tug them from Dean's grip but he just pulled them back, resulting in a tug of war type situation going on, "now let _go_ "

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine"

"You're clearly _not_ fine if you winced. Did that scarecrow hurt you?" he was standing at the end of the bed, concern spreading across his features.

"No it didn't so can you just-ah" she let out a small sound of pain as she tried to pull the covers away but Dean did the same thing at the same time, jolting her body forward, "dammit"

"I knew it" he sounded borderline smug but more worried than anything, dropping his hold on the covers and strode to the side of the bed to sit down next to her, "so spill sis, what happened?"

She blew out a long breath in aggravation, throwing him a heated glare, "none of your business"

"Quit being stubborn"

"Then quit being nosy"

He bit his tongue from throwing an insult at her, trying to stay calm so she wouldn't put up any more guards around him, their fragile relationship already beginning to strain, "fine, you don't have to tell me but I'm your big brother and I want to help you… let me help you"

She glanced up at him, biting the bullet and dropping her façade, something she knew she would regret but Dean wasn't going to let this matter drop – he was annoyingly stubborn, exactly like her.

"Fine" she gave up her grip on the covers, rolling her eyes, "I got impaled on a shard of glass – happy now?"

His eyes widened, filling up with worry, "what, how? Where? Let me see"

She batted away his hands before they could get close, narrowing her eyes, "first off mama bear, slow your roll. Second, mind your own god damn business and third, no way in hell"

" _Mackenzie_ …" he drawled out in that annoying, low, 'no room for any arguments' tone, "lift your jersey"

"I said I'm fine"

"Now" he demanded, "Jesus Christ kid, you can't say something like that and not expect me to worry"

Maybe she was getting soft but she eventually did as he asked, screwing her face up in irritation to show how unhappy she was at his constant over the top worrying but lifted her jersey so he could see the wound, now healing, but still raw and sore, covered in those annoying little kiddie band aids.

"Why the hell isn't this bandaged properly?" was the first thing he said, quirking a brow as he reached out to gently prod at the inflamed area, "this could get infected – actually, it looks infected already"

"Well it was until you oh so rudely wouldn't even let me collect my stuff and left me with a half empty duffel from like two years ago" she huffed out, rolling her eyes yet again.

"Who stitched you up?" he asked, "because this is half assed – at best"

She sent him an indignant look, "I did, asshole. And maybe not my best work but I was kinda, almost, _maybe_ bleeding to death and in a lot of pain – happy now?"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, his eyes saddening for some unknown reason, "so will you let me patch you up properly?"

"If you're quick about it"

For the first time since they had reunited he properly looked at her with concern, his annoyance at her fading away so he could see how much had exactly changed about her – she looked tired, more tired than before, and harder and more resilient, like she was ready for anything and everything.

He stood up, grabbing his duffel and finding the alcohol, swabs and bandages, laying them out on the bed as he continued eyeing her up in worry.

"You should have told me about this sooner"

"Why?" she sighed.

"Why? Because I'm your brother" he implored, "I need to know these things"

"Well I wasn't exactly planning on sticking around, was I?" sucking in a sharp breath as he dabbed some alcohol on and around the flaming red skin, "and I'm fine, it's just a scratch"

"It's more than a scratch Kez"

"Dean, stop" she sighed warily, "stop doing this, pretending we're on okay terms. We're not and we might not ever be again. I didn't come willingly to find you, we ran into each other. On accident. If dad never sent you here, we wouldn't have met again, maybe for years and that was fine with me"

That hurt, Dean sucking in a sharp breath to not let his emotions waver on his face but glanced up at her as he pressed some swabs to her wound as gently as he could, hating the way his little sister resented him.

"Maybe dad sent me here, not just to save these people, but so we could save each other as well"

She rolled her eyes, "you have so much faith in that man. Dad doesn't know where I am, just like how Sam and you didn't"

"You don't know that" he argued back lightly, "maybe he's trying to put this family back together"

"He's the one that screwed it up" she exclaimed, "he hates me, he resented Sam for having a mind of his own, he doesn't want us Dean"

"Kenzie-"

"No, I'm not talking about it" she said adamantly, "hurry up and finish so I can get some sleep"

He began slowly wrapping the bandages around her torso, feeling his little sister's fury as she bit her cheek to stop from screaming and shouting in retaliation.

"Kez… I'm sorry I betrayed you" he whispered, "I wasn't thinking, I didn't realise… and I'm… I'm sorry"

Tears stung her eyes but she kept them at bay, "Yeah, well, eight months too late" she said bitterly, ignoring his stare trained on her.

"You made a mistake-"

"Yeah, a _massive_ one" she scoffed, "I wasn't paying attention and two people died because of me and you, being the good little boy, just had to let slip to dad didn't you? Just so he could make me feel useless, and a failure doing the only thing I actually enjoy. Hunting. Killing things. So I left, not just because of you walking in on me with that guy, but because I felt so bad about that mistake, so guilty, that I thought opening up to my big brother would help. Well, don't worry, I won't make that mistake again"

"Kez, please… what can I do to make this right?"

She grabbed the bandages from his grip, tying it off and sending him a filthy glare, "you can leave me alone – that's what you can do" she shimmied down under the covers, not so accidentally kicking him so he would stand up, "As soon as this case is done, I'm gone. I'm out. And you won't ever hear from me again"

He kneeled on the floor, watching her punch the pillows to fluff them up as well as taking her anger out on them, hating this anger and distance between them, "I miss you Mackenzie. I miss having you around"

She missed him too… their bickering matches and prank wars, endless talks into the night as they flicked through channels to watch movie after movie. She did, she missed him, but she was still hurt, still aching with what she had done that Dean's betrayal of her secret was like a constant punch in the stomach, on repeat.

She never said anything, just closed her eyes and shut herself off. She was tired and cranky, having not slept in a good forty eight hours and didn't need this stress right now.

Dean watched this, sighing sadly as he stood up but not before brushing his hand over her hair, a silent goodnight, and went back to sofa, flicking through his dad's journal, wondering if and how he could ever make this right.

 **A/N yayyyyyy an update – ive been so inspired to write this, so found time and just sat down and did – I missed writing Mackenzie and am so excited to carry on her journey so pretty please review and let me know what you thought – I loved dean and Mackenzies bickering and then the angst, oh boy lol so see you all soon, and don't forget to drop a review – love you all x**


	4. Chapter 4 - Good riddance

**Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me in any way, shape or form** **anyways I do have lots of plans for this story I've just been in a slump with writing in general, including all my other stories, but I'm slowly but surely getting back into that so hope you all enjoy this update**

It wasn't like she wasn't aware she was being kind of – okay a _lot_ – bitchy. She knew it, but she just didn't care because when you trusted someone as much as she had trusted Dean, and he betrayed that trust, she had every right to act out. Stubbornness was her middle name after all and, in certain situations, she could hold a grudge.

Like now… a grudge lasting eight months.

She struggled to get off to sleep, her mind a whirlwind of everything rushing through her brain as she heard Dean creep around the room, cleaning his guns and knives and felt his eyes trained on her, studying her still body but she didn't move, didn't give in to his silent pleads for them to talk and a couple of hours later he switched off the light and crawled into bed.

But still she couldn't sleep, finally deciding to roll onto her back and stare upwards towards the ceiling as she absentmindedly traced her fingers along the bandages on her bare stomach. It still nipped a little but since Dean had attended to it, it was feeling much better.

If he didn't know she just thought that, everything would be alright.

The early morning hours creeped in, minute by minute getting closer to sunrise and just when she started to think she was going to go crazy with how much silence there was, her phoned beeped and she immediately grabbed it off the nightstand table and flipped it open, resisting a small smile as she saw Chris' name flashing up at her.

She had known him before her eight-month sabbatical from her family, what with her dad and his dad being hunting buddies on occasion, but hadn't seen him in a few years until she accidentally ran into him on one of her first hunts by herself. A simple salt and burn. Nothing serious. She did the deed, burned the bones, only to turn around and come face to face with that smiling idiot, a shovel slung over his shoulder.

"Huh… guess I'm too late huh?"

He was lucky she recognised him straight away otherwise he would've gotten a shovel smacked full force across his chiselled face.

She joked with him. He joked back. He invited her to a local bar where they both did shots – too many shots. She unloaded on him, drunkenly fumbling over her words about how she hated her dad and Dean, how she never wanted to see them ever again. He consoled her with wise words and more drinks until they were worry free and when the bar closed at 3am they ended up having drunk sex against the outside wall. And then in his car. And then back at her motel room.

The next morning she had woke up with a groggy head and a nauseous stomach, sitting up in bed and running her hands though her knotty, sweaty hair only to be suddenly handed a couple of aspirin and a glass of water.

"So Winchester… that was fun" he had commented with a cocky smirk, "we should've done that sooner"

And so that was how they became friends with benefits… _lots_ of benefits. Dean and Sam thought she was alone for those eight months, oh how wrong they were. She hunted by herself the majority of the time, she travelled by herself, but she had company when she wanted company. It was a mutual beneficial relationship, one that hunters like herself needed. And he seemed to need that too.

She opened the text, skimming quickly over the words that read out 'can you talk?' and she cast a curious glance at Dean, seeing him sleeping soundly and quietly pulled back the covers and crept from the room in her bare feet, wincing a little as the catch on the door caught louder than she intended but walked towards the wooden bench near the widow of their motel room and sat down.

She assumed he couldn't sleep and wanted someone to talk to, something she totally understood, so pulled her knees to her chest, tucking her jumper over her knees to keep her bare legs warm and hit speed-dial because he was, now, always number one in her phone - replacing Dean.

He answered almost immediately, sighing sadly, "sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah" she said, "I couldn't sleep either. Dean was getting on my nerves so…"

"Dean's a good guy" he stated delicately, a careful edge to his voice because he knew she didn't like it when he brought her brother up, "I know he messed up but he means well"

She clenched her jaw, biting back a fiery insult as she tried taking a couple of deep breaths but still spat out a bitter "like you know"

He sighed, recognising her stubborn streak shining through, "okay, I get it, you don't want to talk about Dean"

"Glad you caught on" she said, rolling her eyes despite him unable to see her, "so why can't you sleep?"

She sensed his smirk and could just picture his eyes gleaming playfully, "because you aren't here next to me"

She melted – just a little, she wasn't soft – and scoffed jokingly, "you're just a sex addict you creep"

He chuckled, "it takes one to know one"

She enjoyed this back and forth banter but knew he was stalling, a gentle smile tugging at her lips as she ignored the chilly breeze and rested her chin on her jumper clad legs, holding the phone to her ear, "did you have a nightmare?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"Maybe I just know you well enough" she said lightly, sighing heavily, "it wasn't your fault. I know you know that deep down"

There was no response for a few seconds as he mulled over what she said and she let him think without saying anything, just being familiar breathing over the phone. A little bit of company for him.

"It feels like my fault" he whispered, "if I was just quicker-"

"In our job, there's always going to be casualties" she said sadly, "we can't save everyone"

"I know… but her I wanted to save"

A nine year old girl who that vengeful spirit got to just before he did. It had been slowly killing him ever since.

"You tried" she said gently, "that's all you can do. We're not superheroes, we're just people. Ordinary people who try our best… and I'm sure that little girl was thankful you tried"

There was silence again before he sniffed and she could imagine him shaking his head, pushing away those emotions, "yeah, I'm sure she was"

"I'm sorry" she apologised, "I wish I could do more to help"

"You do help me" he disagreed, that lightness returning to his voice, "more than you know Winchester"

She let out a quiet breathless laugh, staring off into mid air as she smiled to herself, only to get disrupted from saying another word as the door to her motel room opened and Dean appeared, his gun cocked as he formed a defensive stance before spotting her and straightening up, blowing out a sigh of relief.

"Don't disappear on me like that!" he chastised her, like she was five all over again.

She tilted the phone away from her ear, cocking a brow at her brother, "I'm just outside, Chill"

He frowned suspiciously, his eyes falling to the phone in her hand, "who are you talking to?"

"Santa Claus" she deadpanned, unamused with her brother's nosey behaviour, "mind your own god damn business"

He rolled his eyes, "who are you talking to?"

Before she could snap something back at him, Chris shouted through the phone "sorry Dean, I was just stealing your sister for some advice on something big and ugly. Didn't mean to worry you"

She rolled her eyes at that shit explanation, but Dean didn't notice, focusing on the phone as he quirked a brow, "Chris? That's twice I've heard from you in a day…"

"Uh…" Chris paused, chuckling uncomfortably, "your sister is apparently a much better hunter than I am. My number one go to for advice"

"Kiss ass" she butted in, resisting a smile.

"Okay well…" Dean shrugged, "it's late. You need your rest Mackenzie"

"Of course. Dean's right" Chris agreed, "get some sleep Ze" his own special nickname for her, "speak to you later"

"Yeah... goodnight" they didn't have their usual light-hearted chit chat with Dean's overly cautious, mother hen gaze and she snapped her phone shut, sending her brother a glare.

"Happy now?" she demanded, rolling her eyes.

"Enough of the attitude" he demanded, "I woke up and you were gone, of course I thought something bad had happened. Sue me for caring"

She scoffed, clenching her phone tightly in her hand as she faced her brother, "it's none of your concern who I talk to"

His frown deepened, glancing down at her suspiciously, "do you talk to him often?"

She stilled, holding his steady stare, "he's a friend, so yes Dean, we talk. I know communication isn't your strong point, but humans are generally social creatures-"

He cut off her patronising rant, letting out an aggravated sigh, "is there something going on between you two?"

She scoffed, "no. And even if there was you have no right to comment on it"

"Because I swear to god if he's _ever_ touched you-"

"Wow Dean, _wow_ " she exclaimed, "guess what? You aren't my mother and you aren't in my life anymore" she snapped, "this, here, now-" she flung her arm out between them, "-was a chance meeting. I'm only staying to help save some lives, not to reconnect with you. You have no right to treat me like I'm five all over again. So shove your controlling, dominating behaviour-" she snapped, pointing upwards enthusiastically, _"-right up your ass"_

Without even sparing him a glance, she pushed past him and stormed right back into their motel room and slammed the door just to show him exactly how pissed off she was, flinging herself into her bed and pulling the covers over her shoulders, shutting off from everything around her.

And, surprisingly, after that little (okay, rather big) outlet of emotion, she fell asleep rather quickly. Was it a sound sleep? No, definitely not. She was restless and hyped up but at least she grabbed a few hours. Just a little something to recharge her batteries.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead" she woke groggily by Dean slapping her leg through the covers, "up and at 'em. Are you in a better mood now?"

Oh he was brave. Very brave. She was already in a pissy mood but combine that with lack of sleep and an early morning harsh wake up call? He's lucky he still had his head.

She groaned, kicking off the covers and twisting onto her back, glaring at her smirking brother, "go to hell"

"Ooooh scary" he joked, throwing his hands up and pretending to shake, deciding to take a more light-hearted route to try and ease the growing tension between him and his sister, wanting to try and rebuild that relationship, but judging by her unimpressed-bordering on murderous expression, he doubted that would happen any time soon.

"Look, Kenzie… I'm sorry okay? I was acting like a dick-"

"You mean more than normal?" she injected with so much passive aggressiveness, Dean felt the sting.

He sighed, "yes, more than normal. Please can we just put this past us now? Go back to how things were?"

"Like it's that easy" she scoffed, "I've spent the last eight months resenting you, I can't just snap my fingers and miraculously _not_ want to slap you"

"Kez-"

"Stop it. Stop _trying"_ she emphasised, "Please. All you're doing is grating on my nerves"

"That's what big brothers do"

She bit her tongue, resisting the temptation to snap something back at him as she grabbed her duffel and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door as Dean stood there and sighed sadly.

"Dammit" he muttered under his breath, his hand clenching into a fist as he had to stop himself punching the wall in frustration, deciding to give her space as he called out a gruff "I'll wait in the car" and didn't expect a response. Just as well because he didn't get one.

She had a quick shower, letting her hair dry naturally as she scrubbed her teeth, threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a blue round tee before swinging the duffel over her shoulder and striding from the room, not even bothering shutting the door.

Dean just looked at her as she threw herself in the impale, chucking her duffel in the back seat and cocked a brow at him, "well? Drive"

He rolled his eyes at her attitude, sliding into reverse and skidding from the parking lot as they headed to the local library to do some more research which, after a few hours, was pointless. Nothing turned up and they were both left frustrated.

So they decided to follow their intuition and visit a professional which Dean pointed out could be a professor at the local college. She rolled with it, staying silent as they drove there and parked and followed her brother up to the professor's office.

It took a little while, but they managed to pry from a somewhat reluctant professor information about Norse gods – well, one in particular. Vanir. God of protection and prosperity. Her and Dean shared a look when they recognised the very same thing that attacked them in the orchid staring up at them from the page.

"Okay well uh, that's great. Thank you" she nodded at the professor, "Dean, we should probably head off now"

"Yeah" he agreed, shaking the professors hand, "thanks again, you've been a big help"

Dean moved towards the door first and she was just about to follow when she caught a glint of something in the professor's gaze, like anticipation or impatience, she wasn't quite sure which. It could've been both but whatever it was it made him look suspicious. Guilty even.

She paused, frowning a little but just as she went to open her mouth, she heard Dean open the door and just a moment later a loud crunch, followed by the sound of a large body hitting the floor.

She immediately turned around, watching Dean fall to the floor as the sheriff stood there with a rifle in his hands, turning it around in his grip to point it at her.

"Hands on your head girly, we can do this the easy way… or the hard way"

She glanced down at Dean in concern but noticed he was alright, just unconscious, and rolled her eyes at the sheriff, "see? This is why I hate small towns"

"Do as he says" the professor spoke from behind her, not moving from the protection of his desk, "and it'll be quick"

"Here's the thing, I don't like it quick" she smirked, "I like it slow, steady… taking it's time" she smirked, "so no, I won't put my hands on my head, and yes, if you want it easy and quick, then you'll just have to shoot me"

"I don't like to get my hands dirty" the sheriff shrugged, "but he does"

It was her own fault really. She should have seen it coming. If the professor was twisted enough to rat them out and be responsible for human sacrifices, then he was twisted enough to play dirty. Jesus Christ, being back with her family really did mess with her head and make her slip up more than usual.

Something thin and cold, like wire, was wrapped around her neck, sharp enough to slice her skin and she flailed back a little, her oxygen beginning to ware thin. But she somehow managed to grip the sleeves of his shirt and pull him against her back as she bent down slightly, using her strength to flip him over her shoulder, gasping back a deep breath when the wire was released from her neck.

She didn't have much time to catch her breath because when she stumbled upright, the barrel of the shotgun was pointed between her eyes, the sheriff glaring at her furiously.

"The hard way? So be it"

She expected him to hit her head like he did with Dean but he didn't, ramming the barrel right into her diaphragm, her breath getting knocked from her as she collapsed to her knees, giving him the perfect opportunity to knock her across the head with the shotgun so she blacked out.

Her last thought being… those fucking humans.

* * *

"Finally" Dean grunted, watching his sister begin to rise as he tugged at the bounds tying him to the tree, "they really did a number on you huh?"

She groaned, blinking over at him blindly, "shut up. You got knocked out first"

"I was caught off guard"

"That's no excuse" she scoffed, finally coming to and realising she was bound to a tree just opposite Dean, about fifteen feet between them, "you slipped up"

"Well if you had my back-"

"If you didn't-"

"Can you both please shut up?" another voice piped up and Mackenzie just realised another girl tied up next to Dean and recognised her as the young girl working at the local gas station, "we're all about to die in case you haven't noticed"

"Oh I noticed" Mackenzie shrugged, well – shrugged as much as she could tied up – and sighed, "I just don't care. Occupational hazard"

Dean looked like he wanted to kick her if he could, his eyes narrowing as a warning to shut up, "it's fine. I'm still working on that plan"

Mackenzie chuckled, "Dean, you're the _worst_ at making plans"

"I am _not_ -"

"Please" the girl begged, looking on the verge of tears, "get us out of here"

Mackenzie softened a little, watching the girl twitch with nervousness, "what's your name?"

"Emily"

"Okay well Emily, uh, look at the positives okay? Not a lot of people get to come face to face with a Norse scarecrow god. I mean, those that have have died but-"

"And you say I have no people skills" Dean scoffed, "Emily, ignore my idiot sister, we're working on it"

"It's dark" Mackenzie pointed out, "that thing will be on us in no time. Maybe-"

"Shhhhh"

"You shhhhh" Mackenzie shot back, annoyed, but Dean's expression was anything but playful.

"Did you hear that?"

They all stilled, straining their eyes against the dark night, listening to the sounds of movement getting closer and closer and just when Mackenzie stiffened in defence did she see Sam suddenly appear next to Dean, making him jump.

"Oh thank god" Dean murmured in relief, "I am so happy to see you right now, I take everything back"

Sam smirked, untying Dean's ropes as he looked over to Mackenzie, "you okay Kez?"

"Never better" she muttered sarcastically but there was a smirk on her face but when he started moving towards her she shook her head, nodding to Emily, "her first"

"Did you see the scarecrow tied up back there?"

Sam stilled, his fingers pausing around Emily's ropes, "what scarecrow?"

"Fabulous. Really, really great" Mackenzie mumbled, "and I just _had_ to offer to be untied last huh?"

She sensed everyone's nerves which, in turn, made her slightly nervous as Sam rushed over and untied her, helping her to her feet and frowning at the bruises around her neck.

"That looks sore-"

"Yeah, no time" she grabbed his hand, following Emily and Dean out of the orchid as fast as they could but soon got surrounded by the locals, pointing their weapons at them.

And the next thing that happened, well… it was karma. No other word for it.

Mackenzie didn't even feel bad for them. She would rather they be human kebabs than her.

They decided to find the sacred tree in daylight so headed back to the motel in which Mackenzie offered to bunk with Emily – anything to avoid her brothers. Even if consoling a confused and sad broken girl wasn't exactly her strong point either.

"Uh… did the shower help?" she asked, watching Emily emerge from the bathroom in one of her over sized shirt's, one of Dean's she believed, and watched as the girl shrugged.

"A little bit I guess"

"Look uh… I'm not that great at the 'shoulder to cry on' thing but… your aunt and uncle, they were bad people. They were willing to sacrifice you for the sake of a bit of nutritious ground. At least now you can start over, be someone new. And please-" Mackenzie smirked, "-don't go for a small town, they're the worst"

Emily laughed, laying down in bed, "thanks Mackenzie"

"Yeah" she nodded, smiling at the girl as she scooted down in her queen bed and clicked off the lamp, "you're welcome"

* * *

She wasn't going to lie, she was really tempted to get on the bus with Emily and only get off at the very last stop, furthest away from her brothers right now. Well, Dean in particular. But one, she didn't do buses. Two, social interaction with people she didn't know? No thank you. Three, it was a puke fest waiting to happen. There was about a thousand more reasons, but she didn't want to stick around and list them all. She wanted to get out of here. Pronto.

"Well, this has been fun" she said blandly, "smell ya later guys"

"Hey, hey, hey, _no_ " Dean grabbed her arm, pulling her back in-between them, "not a chance in hell are you escaping again"

"Escaping would suggest imprisonment and I ain't in priosn" she scoffed, "so unless you wanna kidnap me-"

"I'm seriously considering it"

"Why you little-"

"You two need to shut up" Sam interrupted, staring between them like a disappointed father, "you're going at it like cat and dog"

"He started it" she said in a huff, rolling her eyes, "look, I just wanna go. I have a life to live guys"

"Yeah, with us" Dean sighed, "c'mon Kenzie, I've apologised, what more can I do to fix this?"

"Just… leave me alone" she whispered, "not forever, just for a bit. Let me be me, without you"

"And what about dad?" Dean asked, a sharp edge to his tone, "are you not going to help?"

She felt a pang of guilt course through her body, "of course I'll look for him. I may hate the man but he's still my dad. I just need a little time"

"You're making a big mistake Mackenzie" Dean warned, shaking his head, "just as big as the one you made to leave in the first place"

She wasn't going to lie, that did hurt. In fact it hurt a lot, but stubborn, hard headed Mackenzie didn't let that show, raising her chin and staring between her brothers, "bye guys"

Sam wished her well, patting her back as he made her promise she would call but Dean never said anything, turning away from her as she started walking away, blinking back the tears she didn't expect to well up.

"That was a dick move" Sam said to Dean, "she's your little sister"

"She abandoned us. _Again_ " Dean ground out through clenched teeth, "good riddance"

"You don't mean that-"

"Oh I mean it" Dean rolled his eyes, "now get your ass in the car. We got work to do"

Sam sighed, glancing between he figures of his siblings, one walking away and the other furiously getting inside the impala and slamming the door and just wished things, one day, would be different.

* * *

She thought she had her life sorted. Solo hunting. Doing things her way. Moving from place to place, never staying still for too long. Living a solidarity life, except for when she craved company. But meeting in with her brothers after eight months just made her head spin. She didn't realise how much she missed them until she had them by her side again.

Urgh, why was life so complicated?

Which was why she drove all day to get to the one place she was sure about.

She knew for a fact pastor Jim was out assisting on a hunt, which meant Chris was all by himself in that big old house and he was the perfect company for her right now. Wouldn't ask too any questions. Would treat her right. What more could she want?

She parked haphazardly in the driveway, knocking on the door quickly and when she didn't get a response in the first few seconds she knocked again, a little bit more impatiently than before.

"Okay, I'm coming, hold on" she heard, followed by quick footsteps thumping down the stairs before the door got wrenched open and Chris stood there in his boxer shorts and dressing gown, quirking a brow down at her.

"Oh, hey Winchester" he smirked, "long time no see"

She bit her lip, dragging her eyes from his exposed chest to his gentle, humorous expression, "can I come in?"

He grinned, "Oh, I don't know" he pretended to think it over as he pursed his lips, "what's the password?"

Despite feeling like crap, she had to crack a smile at his childish, care-free behaviour and quickly popped the buttons of her shirt so it hung open, exposing her own chest.

"Does this work?"

Chris' eyes widened in appreciation before letting the door swing open, "that _always_ works"

 **A/N) EEEEEEEH im back lol, and don't worry, she will be reunited with her brothers pretty damn quickly ha so please please let me know what you think – good, bad and everything in between pleaseeeeeeee, I really need your thoughts for inspo ha, so hope you all enjoyed and see you all soon**


	5. Chapter 5 - Gone

**Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me in any way, shape or form (so sad) I know my updates are erratic but last year of uni does that to you lol I have big ideas though so do not worry lol, and thank you for the continued support and reviews, really means a lot so please please keep them coming and hope you enjoy this next update**

She didn't mean to get so… _distracted_.

Yet again, three days cooped up in Chris' house was exactly what she was needing. The easy company, the enjoyment, the sex. It was better than therapy.

When they finally decided to put some clothes on and head down the creaky oak stairs, laughing to themselves as they flirted, they noticed Pastor Jim sitting in his rocking chair, casually cleaning an axe.

"Uh… d-dad" Chris spluttered, glancing down to make sure his fly was up, "what-what are you doing here?"

"I live here son" Jim smirked as Mackenzie tried to stop her sniggers, "nice to see you again Mackenzie"

"You too pastor Jim" she smiled friendly, pretending to tip an imaginary hat, "fun hunt?"

"Not as fun as you two presumably had" He remarked with a sly, humorous spark in his gaze and she could feel Chris seizing up next to her, embarrassment flushing his cheeks.

" _Dad"_ Chris whined, "stop"

Pastor Jim held up his hands, coincidentally lifting the axe as well, "relax son-" and if Mackenzie didn't know he was messing around, his presence could be interpreted as threatening, "-take a joke"

"Yeah Chris-" Mackenzie played along, nudging his arm, "-take a joke, Jesus" before pursing her lips at Pastor Jim, "-I mean, praise the lord, Jesus and the holy spirit"

Pastor Jim just smiled kindly, "any plans you two?"

"Well I got to dash" she stepped forward and grabbed a banana off his coffee table, "I got a little, um, waylaid-" she smirked to herself, remembering all the unholy things Chris and herself had just done, "-but gotta hit the road. Try and catch a case"

"Need some company?" Chris asked, his adorable brown hair falling a little in front of his eyes but she shook her head, patting his chest.

"I'm good, don't want to risk that pretty face of yours getting damaged" she remarked lightly, tapping his cheek before leaning up and kissing it tenderly.

"Oh and-" she turned to Pastor Jim, pointing a finger at him, "-if you happen to talk to any member of my family, no I haven't been here, no you haven't seen me and-"

"-no I don't know where you are or what plans you have" Jim re-enacted perfectly, used to her spiel by now, "don't worry, my lips are sealed sweetheart"

She nodded in appreciation, "thank you, catch you both later"

Chris walked her to the door though, tucking some loose hair behind her ear, "I'm only a phone call away if you need me"

"I know" she smiled, falling deep into those crystal clear eyes that she could lose herself in forever, "you're the one person I can count on right now"

He smiled sadly, "you have your brothers too, you know"

"Don't ruin these amazing last three days we had by bringing up them" she warned lightly, but her tone held something much more ferocious bubbling beneath the surface, "not yet, I can't deal with it"

"Okay, okay" he soothed, sliding his hands through her long loose hair, tilting her head forward so he could press a delicate kiss along her hairline, "my bad. No mention of dickhead brothers"

She chuckled, slapping his chest playfully, "exactly" smiling goofily like a little kid at a theme park, "but seriously, thank you. I didn't realise how much I needed that"

"Anytime" he winked flirtatiously, "drive safe"

As she walked away from the secluded house she turned around, quirking a brow, "really? With everything we do, you're concerned about my driving?"

"Well you do drive like a maniac" he laughed, "are you sure you actually passed your driving test?"

"Oh shut up" she flipped him the bird playfully, pulling her car door open, "I can ride my car perfectly amazingly, just like how I ride you"

"Oooooh" was the last thing she heard, followed by an amused laugh as she started up the engine and left him in the dust, not so secretly watching his figure hovering by the door, making sure she left in one piece and couldn't stop the giddy smile tugging at her lips.

He just made her happy. He brought out this innocent, goofy side to her that not many people saw these days. When she was around him, the constant emotional pain she was in was dampened, like he was her very own pain relief. They were just great companions and a great team, and she missed him when he wasn't near her.

But hey - just friends, right?

Hunters didn't really do relationships. It just got too messy and complicated and pressurised. Living on the road, the constant stress, the disagreements… it wasn't exactly healthy. And being a hunter was dangerous work… imagine falling for someone, building that unbreakable connection only for something terrible to happen to that other person. It was heart wrenching just imagining it.

So yes, they were just really good, really close – _in more than one way_ – friends. And it worked for them. Just now, at least. And just now was all that really mattered.

She drove across states from Minnesota to Indiana, a long drive that lasted well into the early hours of the night but she didn't mind, listening to music and doing well over the speed limit, stopping at random gas stations to fill up and get snacks.

The reason for Indiana was because she heard there may be a case. A radio station spoke about girls and women going missing from a small town near Lafayette and she thought "hm, could be interesting" so high tailed it over there asap.

It was too late to do much and she was seriously sleep deprived but she decided to hit up the areas the women were last seen after finding a dingy motel in the area. Turned out, last place they were seen were at a bar.

How cliché.

Yet she wasn't complaining – she could really use a drink right about now.

Turned out, she needed ten.

She didn't realise how stressed she had been with seeing her brothers again until she sat down and thought about it. She had been keeping them away for so long, that meeting in with them again – especially Dean – was hard work. Interacting with them, being civil, hiding and closing herself off was difficult. Too difficult.

When she glanced up, there were only a few remaining people in the bar – mainly older, middle aged trucker type men and a couple of bar staff and when she glanced at the clock it was soon turning three.

No luck tonight. She didn't have her thinking, detective hat on anyway. Plus she was kind of drunk – not exactly prime hunter material. She picked herself up off the bar stool and headed out the door, the cool night air hitting her square in the face and making her stumble before she found her balance, grabbing a hold of the wall.

And just like the others, she vanished. Gone in the blink of an eye. Like the wind carried her far far away. Only no one noticed straight away, not like they did with the others. She was lost and no one even knew they had to find her.

* * *

Chris was a worrier. Not about a lot of things, but the things he did worry about he worried a lot. Take his dad for example – he was always concerned over losing him, that one day he would walk out the door and never come back. The nature of the job, yes, but something he had still yet to accept.

He and Ze – Mackenzie – could go a week without talking. Maybe two. Life got busy, and when they were states away from each other with people they were trying to save, it was understandable. But they always tried to send each other a text, just to check in. And his last twenty-seven texts had gone unanswered.

He was way past concerned. He was freaking the hell out.

He paced the length of his empty and bare Livingroom countless times, his nimble fingers spinning his cell phone nervously in the palm of his hand as he debated dialling a number.

Mackenzie would hate him for it, especially if it turned out he was just jumping to conclusions, but it had been five weeks. Five weeks of no contact. He needed help.

He immediately scrolled down to Dean's name, deciding he would rather Mackenzie be safe and mad at him as he waited for him to answer, his right foot tapping the ground nervously.

He heard a click, followed by a gruff "Chris?" and thanked his lucky stars the older hunter answered.

"Uh yeah, hey" he greeted, "sorry to just call out of the blue but uh… where are you?"

"Not far from you actually – we just ganked a ghost, why didn't you take care of it? Losing your touch?" Dean joked but Chris was too worried and stressed to go along with Dean's joke, blowing out a long anxious breath.

"Can you come around?" he asked, "it's important"

He heard Dean pause, mulling over what he had said and inhaled sharply, "sure. Be there within the hour"

They hung up and Chris shuffled about his house waiting for the two Winchesters to show up. He was sure it had to have been at least ten years since they had visited the house, their dads growing apart and the kids – them – growing apart too.

He heard the familiar growl of the impala outside and hurried outside to the porch, watching the two brothers pull themselves from the car and walk towards him.

"Everything okay Chris?" Sam enquired, his brows furrowing as his long strides overtook Dean's, "what's going on?"

He was suddenly lost for words, staring between the two Winchesters and just knew they – well, _Dean_ – were going to give him absolute hell. The Winchesters went ape shit over family.

"Uh… look-" he opened with, "-I made a promise okay? I made a promise to your sister not to tell you anything-" he noticed Dean's eyebrows shoot up, his lips making a hard thin line, "-and I want to stick to it for her sake but I'm worried about her"

"Why?" Sam asked innocently, "have you two been in contact this whole time?"

Much more than contact, he thought, but decided it was best they never know about _that_.

"She needed someone" he said quietly, seeing from the corner of his eye Dean quietly fuming, his face twisted into anger, "I kept an eye on her, that's all. But I haven't heard anything in over a month… not long after you guys saw her"

"And you're only telling us _now?"_ Dean growled, taking a purposeful step forward but Sam grabbed the arm of his leather jacket and kept him still, "what the hell?"

"I know" Chris rushed out, "but she really _really_ didn't want you guys knowing where she was or what she was doing. It was the one thing she insisted upon. I couldn't betray her like that"

"Shut up Dean" Sam cut off his brother before he had a chance to swear and curse at curse, "did she say where she was going?"

Chris shrugged, "no – she just left here and that was it"

Dean let out a gruff snort, "and why was she here?"

He froze, slipping up and making a mistake right in front of two very big and very strong brothers.

"Um… uh… we were uh… we had to… eh…"

"It's not important" Sam said rationally, "what's important is Kez is missing"

"I swear to god if anything has happened to her-" Dean pointed a threatening, angry finger at Chris, "-I'm going to blame you. I knew she would be better sticking with us, at least we would know how to keep her safe"

Chris deflated a little, "I wasn't her keeper. She's her own woman, I was just making sure she could trust at least one person in her life"

It was a low blow, but he didn't like getting all the blame put on him. Especially not from Dean.

" _Stop"_ Sam shouted, stepping in front of Dean before he could rush Chris, "Dean, get in the car. Chris, do the same. You're going to tell us everything that's happened these past eight months, and if you miss a single detail… next time, I won't stop Dean"

 **A/N a little short but I need to know people are still reading lol ooooh, will this be the event that brings them all back together? What could have happened to Mackenzie? Let me know what you think and please please review and I shall see you all super soon xxx**


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